Wat an amazing place!
ANGKOR!!
I think it's impossible to do justice to this place with a mere description. The sheer enormity is astounding - the cities and temples stretch out for miles - and the architecture is unbelievable. Then you take a closer look only to discover a myriad of intricate bas-reliefs and magnificent carvings and statues. Even if you aren't in to the museum thing, just exploring the complexes is wicked. And then some things just blow your socks off (or in our case, Tevas). Angkor Wat is a must see, the view from the top alone is worth the trip. The forest-engulfed temple of Ta Prohm (made famous in "Tomb Raider") and similar monuments (one of my favorites was Banteay Kdei) make for the best exploring. We spent hours moving through the huge places. The entire Angkor site is very well organized and spotless, but somehow it maintains the Indiana Jones feel. ie as long as you avoid the many tour groups you feel like youve just discovered an ancient lost city. Very cool. We took tuk-tuk (see: first post in this blog) tours the first two days to familiarize ourself with the place and cover all the major spots, even taking in sunrise at Angkor Wat on the second morning (stunning). After taking it easy (ie boozing in the surprisingle vibrant downtown Siem Reap) on the second night we went out for a final visit to our favorites and a gorgeous sunset from Angkor Wat on day three. Some people think its crazy to buy a three day pass, but we could've stayed there for a whole week, easy. (for anyone interested, my favorites were probably Bayon and Banteay Kdei)
Though sad to say goodbye to Siem Reap and Angkor it was time to move on so we bought a very pricey speedboat ticket along "the Kingdom's most scenice water route"...of course the boat was nothing more than a long metal tube with barely enough room for your knees, especially when crammed with travellers (similar to our bus ride from Pondicherry to Chennai). The boat took 8 hours to reach, we were told the trip should last 3. Following biking around Angkor on the bike-seats-of-death the day before, both Davey and I were having a tough time sitting down even once we were off the boat. Battambang seemed chilled out but we decided to high tail it southeast the next morning.
Dave and I currently find ourselves in Phom Penh, the capital (and largest city) of Cambodia. We settled in to ramshackle accomodations that boast a sweet deck that extends out into the small but picturesque Boen Kak lake for awesome views of the sunsets. This is backpacker land as I imagined it before leaving. Our guesthouse is one of almost a dozen that are pretty much identical (dingy wood-linoleum paneled hallways with dilapidated rooms on either side, leading out from the dirt track/sharp gravel street to the beautiful waterfront) and lined up side by side along the narrow death trap of a road. This part of town is kind of annexed from the rest, a refuge within the city for travellers and Cambodians alike to indulge in partying and chilling out. Thats the great part about it, the vibe is so different from Bangkok. Here travellers of all ages and nationalities mingle with the fun-loving locals. Everyone is out to relax and enjoy themselves. There is the smell of many an intoxicant in the air, accompanied by sweet tunes eminating from each deck. We're looking forward to a few days here before heading to yet another country.
keep the emails coming
lia suhn hao-y
I think it's impossible to do justice to this place with a mere description. The sheer enormity is astounding - the cities and temples stretch out for miles - and the architecture is unbelievable. Then you take a closer look only to discover a myriad of intricate bas-reliefs and magnificent carvings and statues. Even if you aren't in to the museum thing, just exploring the complexes is wicked. And then some things just blow your socks off (or in our case, Tevas). Angkor Wat is a must see, the view from the top alone is worth the trip. The forest-engulfed temple of Ta Prohm (made famous in "Tomb Raider") and similar monuments (one of my favorites was Banteay Kdei) make for the best exploring. We spent hours moving through the huge places. The entire Angkor site is very well organized and spotless, but somehow it maintains the Indiana Jones feel. ie as long as you avoid the many tour groups you feel like youve just discovered an ancient lost city. Very cool. We took tuk-tuk (see: first post in this blog) tours the first two days to familiarize ourself with the place and cover all the major spots, even taking in sunrise at Angkor Wat on the second morning (stunning). After taking it easy (ie boozing in the surprisingle vibrant downtown Siem Reap) on the second night we went out for a final visit to our favorites and a gorgeous sunset from Angkor Wat on day three. Some people think its crazy to buy a three day pass, but we could've stayed there for a whole week, easy. (for anyone interested, my favorites were probably Bayon and Banteay Kdei)
Though sad to say goodbye to Siem Reap and Angkor it was time to move on so we bought a very pricey speedboat ticket along "the Kingdom's most scenice water route"...of course the boat was nothing more than a long metal tube with barely enough room for your knees, especially when crammed with travellers (similar to our bus ride from Pondicherry to Chennai). The boat took 8 hours to reach, we were told the trip should last 3. Following biking around Angkor on the bike-seats-of-death the day before, both Davey and I were having a tough time sitting down even once we were off the boat. Battambang seemed chilled out but we decided to high tail it southeast the next morning.
Dave and I currently find ourselves in Phom Penh, the capital (and largest city) of Cambodia. We settled in to ramshackle accomodations that boast a sweet deck that extends out into the small but picturesque Boen Kak lake for awesome views of the sunsets. This is backpacker land as I imagined it before leaving. Our guesthouse is one of almost a dozen that are pretty much identical (dingy wood-linoleum paneled hallways with dilapidated rooms on either side, leading out from the dirt track/sharp gravel street to the beautiful waterfront) and lined up side by side along the narrow death trap of a road. This part of town is kind of annexed from the rest, a refuge within the city for travellers and Cambodians alike to indulge in partying and chilling out. Thats the great part about it, the vibe is so different from Bangkok. Here travellers of all ages and nationalities mingle with the fun-loving locals. Everyone is out to relax and enjoy themselves. There is the smell of many an intoxicant in the air, accompanied by sweet tunes eminating from each deck. We're looking forward to a few days here before heading to yet another country.
keep the emails coming
lia suhn hao-y
posted by Amar | 6:56 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home